1. Field of the Invention:
The present invention relates to an upholstered seat for use in an automobile.
2. Description of the Prior Art:
Upholstered seats for use in automobiles generally comprise a seat cushion, a seat back, and a seat adjuster. One conventional design of such an upholstered seat is illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10 of the accompanying drawings. The upholstered seat, generally indicated by the reference numeral 1, includes a seat cushion 2 comprising springs (not shown) supported under tension on a seat cushion frame 3, a cushion padding 4, and a cover 5 covering springs, the seat cushion frame 3, and the cushion padding 4. The seat 1 also includes a seat back 6 comprising a seat back frame 7, springs supported under tension on the seat back frame 7, a cushion padding 8, and a cover 9 covering the seat back frame 7, the springs, and the cushion padding 8. The seat back 6 also has a lumbar support 10. The seat 1 further includes a seat adjuster 11 composed of a pair of parallel lower rails 12 to be fixed to the floor of an automobile body, a pair of upper rails 13 slidably fitted over the lower rails 12, respectively, a pair of lower brackets 14 secured to the upper rails 13, respectively, and a pair of upper brackets 15 angularly movably mounted on the lower brackets 14, respectively. The frame 3 of the seat cushion 2 is fixed by bolts 18 to the lower brackets 14. The brackets 15 are fastened by bolts 17 to plates 19 welded to the frame 7 of the seat back 6 at opposite sides thereof.
To assemble the upholstered seat 1, the cover 5 is placed under tension over the cushion padding 4 of the seat cushion 2, and peripheral edges of the cover 5 are secured to clips fixed to lower edges of the cushion frame 3. Then, the seat cushion 2 is fixed by the bolts 18 to the lower brackets 14. The cover 9 is held under tension against the cushion padding 8, and its edges except side gores 9a over the upper brackets 15 are secured by clips 20 to the seat back frame 7. With the unfastened side gores 9a being turned over as shown in FIG. 9, the upper brackets 15 are fastened by the bolts 17 to the plates 19 of the seat back frame 7. Thereafter, the side gores 9a are brought over the upper brackets 15 and back onto the rear of the seat back 6 and fastened by clips 20 to the seat back frame 7. In this manner, the seat back 6 is fixed to the upper bracket 15 and the cover 9 is kept taut over the cushion padding 8 and the seat back frame 7.
As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the upholstered seat thus assembled is poor in appearance since the seat adjusters 11 are exposed to external view beneath the sides of the seat cushion 2. Particularly, the exposed seat adjusters 11, which are made of metal, do not match the covers 5, 9 that are usually in the form of high-quality woven cloth. The side gores 9a are apt to be put under a different tension than the other portion of the cover 9.
One solution would be to apply covers having a color similar to that of the covers 5, 9 to the seat adjusters 11 to cover them. However, use of such covers would not be practical since they would rub against the covers 5, 9 and damage them.
According to another solution, the seat adjusters 11 could be accommodated in the seat cushion 2 and the cover 5 could be fastened to lower edges of the lower brackets 14. However, this arrangement would be disadvantageous in that while the seat adjusters 11 would be concealed by the cover 5, the side gores 9a and the other portion of the cover 9 would still tend to be differently tensioned.